Runner recovering after collapsing during Peachtree Road Race

ATLANTA - A runner is recovering after collapsing near the finish line at the AJC Peachtree Road Race Tuesday morning.

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The man was seen on the ground as medical personnel administered CPR around 10 a.m. Shortly after, emergency crews used a defibrillator. The man was transported to Atlanta Medical Center for treatment.

"The call came in as a person down.  Within seconds, we were on the scene.  We started CPR. Our medical director got on the scene within one minute," explained Atlanta Fire Rescue Section Chief Jimmy Gittens.  "We defibrillated the patient.  When the patient got to the hospital, he was awake and alert."  

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Gittens said it has been about three years since someone needed CPR along the race route, but each year the AFRD plans for any and all emergency situations. 

"In the past ten years, it's happened a few times, but the key is to have our mobile medic response teams so close to each other so they're so fast to respond to any emergency," said Gittens.

Some 60,000 people are participating in the 10K race, which kicked off in Buckhead near Lenox Square early Tuesday morning.  The course took runners through Buckhead to the finish line in Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta.

Race organizers had issued a "red alert" for the event due to the high heat and humidity Tuesday morning.

AFRD officials reported the man was in stable condition and up and talking as of Tuesday evening.  

SEE ALSO: 'Red alert' issued for Tuesday's Peachtree Road Race